Honduras

Background:
Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became as independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan government and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.

Environment - current issues:
urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy metals; severe Hurricane Mitch damage

Population:
6,249,598
note:
estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2000 est.)

Legal system:
rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:chief of state:
President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (since 27 January 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by president
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 30 November 1997 (next to be held 30 November 2001)
election results:
Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse elected president; percent of vote - Carlos Roberto FLORES Facusse (PL) 50%, Nora de MELGAR (PNH) 40%, other 10%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 30 November 1997 (next to be held 30 November 2001)
election results:
percent of vote by party - PL 46%, PN 38%, PINU-SD 4%, PDC 2%, PUD 2%; seats by party - PL 67, PN 55, PINU-SD 3, PDC 2, PUD 1

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia, judges are elected for four-year terms by the National Congress

Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Arturo CORRALES Alvarez, president]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Gustavo GARCIA Espana, president]; Honduran National Party or PNH [leader NA]; Liberal Party or PL [Jorge REINA, president]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban VALLADARES, president]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Porfirio LOBO Sega, president]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band

Economy - overview:
Honduras spent 1999 primarily recovering from Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 5,000 people and caused about $3 billion in damage. Although it is slated to receive about $2.76 billion in international aid, the economy shrank 3% with widening current account and fiscal deficits in 1999. It nevertheless met most of its macroeconomic targets, and 2000 should see economic recovery as reconstruction projects make progress and the agricultural sector recovers. Honduras may also get relief from its $4.4 billion external debt under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

Disputes - international:
the Honduras-El Salvador Border Protocol ratified by Honduras in May 1999 established a framework for a long-delayed border demarcation, which is currently underway; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem